Guitar Theory

How to Learn Songs by Ear on the Guitar

2024-03-06T08:43:43+00:00

Listen to the bass! Learning songs by ear is a lot of fun, and a skill that will come in extremely handy for you both at home for your own enjoyment and in jam sessions/rehearsals when you need to be able to pick things up quickly without TAB’s or sheet music. When starting off on your ear training journey, keep things simple and try to learn a simple four-chord-song that will have pretty straightforward information for you to transcribe. Let’s take “With Or Without You” by U2 as our first example. This will use the same four chords the entire way [...]

How to Learn Songs by Ear on the Guitar2024-03-06T08:43:43+00:00

The 50s Chord Progression – A Progression Used In A Thousand Songs!

2024-01-02T12:26:40+00:00

Introduction:The 1950s was a transformative era for music, marked by the emergence of rock and roll, doo-wop, and the birth of iconic chord progressions that continue to captivate audiences today. One such chord progression, often referred to as the "50s chord progression," has become a classic and is a staple in countless songs across various genres. In this article, we'll explore the magic of this chord progression and dive into a curated list of songs that have utilised its timeless appeal.Understanding the '50s Chord Progression:The '50s chord progression is characterised by its simplicity and emotional resonance. It typically follows a I-vi-IV-V [...]

The 50s Chord Progression – A Progression Used In A Thousand Songs!2024-01-02T12:26:40+00:00

The Importance of Rhythm Guitar

2023-03-16T08:47:15+00:00

Rhythm Guitar is The Glue! So we all love a good bit of lead guitar. Slash’s “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” guitar solos, Angus Young’s iconic solos during “Back In Black”, and Kirk Hammett’s shredding in “Enter Sandman”. But one thing that all these great songs and guitar solos have in common is that they all possess a great rhythm guitarist keeping the whole thing together. Guns ’N Roses have Izzy Stradlin playing a mix of arpeggiated open chords and thick distorted powerchords throughout Slash’s guitar solos, AC/DC have Malcom Young rocking away on those classic rock open chords, and Metallica [...]

The Importance of Rhythm Guitar2023-03-16T08:47:15+00:00

How To Play Major and Minor Triads Horizontally Across The Guitar Neck!

2023-02-03T13:30:35+00:00

What Are Triads? So before we start jumping into playing triads across the guitar neck, let’s have a recap of what  triads are to start with. The triad is the simplest form of a chord that we have in music, comprised of  three notes stacked on top of each other, hence the name. The triad comes from the major or natural  minor scale, and is formed when you play the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees together at the same time.  These three notes can go on to form the core of many other different types of chords. Whether you know [...]

How To Play Major and Minor Triads Horizontally Across The Guitar Neck!2023-02-03T13:30:35+00:00

Is the guitar relevant in pop music?

2021-08-15T11:27:57+01:00

Why is the guitar less prominent these days? To most people, pop music these days means slick, polished production that appears near perfect, although the sound of pop and what exactly is pop music is something that has changed drastically throughout the decades. Pop music of the 1960s and 1970s was far less “perfect”, as this was an age of minimal editing of the band or artists performance once they had been recorded in the studio, as the performance was already committed on tape. These days however, digital audio workstations (DAW’s) allow for endless editing meaning the performance that goes into [...]

Is the guitar relevant in pop music?2021-08-15T11:27:57+01:00

How the blues is relevant in popular music

2021-06-07T07:29:59+01:00

What is Blues? Blues music is an incredibly important genre to discuss not only for its timeless and instantly recognisable sound, but for its influence on the styles that would follow after its birth in the mid to late 1800s. This occurred around the time of theAmerican civil war, created by African-American slaves who worked in plantations and fields in the South of the USA. This music was sung in the form of call and response style chants, which would be a way to boost morale in the tough living and working conditions as a slave. Musically these chants were simple [...]

How the blues is relevant in popular music2021-06-07T07:29:59+01:00

Modes in popular music

2021-05-14T08:56:52+01:00

What are modes? The modes of the Major scale are a concept that many students struggle with on their theory journey due to the many different approaches one can take to view how each mode is formed. To put it simply, modes are really just scales, just like the Major scale, Pentatonic scale or the Natural Minor scale. This title of ‘modes’ is used as all of the modes are related to each other through their intervalic relationship and the notes that are used from one relative mode to the other. The seven modes of the Major scale are: IONIAN (Major [...]

Modes in popular music2021-05-14T08:56:52+01:00

The Phrygian dominant scale

2022-09-16T12:12:52+01:00

Phygrian Dominant Mode - Phrygian Major Third The top 10 scales of many guitarists including Yngwie Malmsteen One of the most fascinating scales that we as guitarists love to play is the Phygrian major third mode. It's a classic scale that is featured on various rock metal and flamenco records (amongst others). It's a favourite scale of Yngwie Malmsteen and various other guitarists. What makes the Phrygian Major Third? The Phrygian major third mode is a scale that finds its origins in either the third mode of the major scale or the 5th mode of the relative minor key. (Using harmonic [...]

The Phrygian dominant scale2022-09-16T12:12:52+01:00
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